More than 100,000 children waiting for first-time primary care assessments

In Cork, 3,376 children were waiting for a first-time assessment for occupational therapy in May this year, 996 of whom are waiting a year.

Over 100,000 children are now on a waiting list for first-time intervention in primary care for services such as psychology and speech and language therapy.

Almost 30,000 of those on a waiting list are waiting up to or more than a year, figures have revealed.

Comparative data from the HSE between May last year and May this year shows an additional 13,000 children aged between 0 and 17 years have been added to waiting lists across the country.

However, the true scale of the number of children waiting for therapies is much higher as the primary lists provided by the HSE do not include children who are on the Children's Disability Network Teams lists.

The HSE has also said there are gaps in reporting the number of children on waiting lists in some parts of the country as they await the rollout of the National Information Management System.

Labour and Cork East TD Seán Sherlock has called on the Government “to step in at the highest level” to address the matter urgently.

These waiting list figures show, once more, a sector in total crisis. 

"From the lack of therapy being offered to families awaiting a first-time intervention and the retention and recruitment chaos that frontline workers are dealing with on a daily basis, it is now time for the Government to step in at the highest level,” he said.

“It is only when you examine each component therapy waiting list that you appreciate how fast a problem this is for families right across the State.

“The Taoiseach must take responsibility and place all available resources to tackling this crisis impacting our most vulnerable families.”

A HSE breakdown shows the number of children aged between 0-17 waiting on access to care, including:

• 16,253 waiting for psychology treatment;
• 16,616 for initial contact for ophthalmology;
• 15,941 waiting for first-time assessment for occupational therapy;
• 15,625 waiting for speech-and-language (SLT) initial assessment;
• 11,123 waiting for audiology treatment;
• 8,850 waiting for physiotherapy assessment;
• 8,957 for further SLT therapy;
• 7,489 SLT initial therapy;
• 6,622 waiting for dietetics treatment.

In Cork, 3,376 children were waiting for a first-time assessment for occupational therapy in May this year, 996 of whom are waiting a year.

And 4,329 children in Cork are waiting for treatment for ophthalmology, 1,995 of whom are waiting a year.

The HSE data was released to Mr Sherlock through a parliamentary question.

He said any plans so far have not worked for families, who have now become statistics. He also said the fact trade unions have walked out of pay talks should send “shockwaves” through the Government as the health services tries to deal with a staff recruitment and retention problem.

Mr Sherlock said Disabilities Minister Anne Rabbitte committed in response to a Labour Party motion that if the six planned regional assessment teams are not set up by August 1 to tackle the enormous assessment of needs waiting lists, she would bring the party’s proposals for covering costs to the budget. 

The motion sought to ensure parents could avail of financial support to get assessments and therapies done privately given the crisis in public services.

“No child should have to wait for an assessment of need but unfortunately as it stands, thousands of children are,” Mr Sherlock said.